Pelobatoidea
David Cannatella
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close boxDiscussion of Phylogenetic Relationships
The name was applied to the node that is the common ancestor of living Megophryidae, Pelobatidae, and Pelodytes. Synapomorphies of Pelobatoidea include the presence of a palatine process of the maxilla and ossification of the sternum into a bony style (Cannatella, 1985). Duellman and Trueb (1986) listed the presence of a dorsal gap in the cricoid ring as a synapomorphy for this clade. However, there is no gap in Scaphiopus, Spea, Pelobates (except for the smallest species, P. fuscus), or several megophryids; at best, the presence of a dorsal gap would be an ambiguous synapomorphy. Relationships among the living pelobatoids are an unresolved trichotomy of Megophryidae, Pelobatidae, and Pelodytes.
References
Cannatella, D. C. 1985. A phylogeny of primitive frogs (archaeobatrachians). Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Kansas, Lawrence.
Duellman, W. E., and L. Trueb. 1986. Biology of Amphibians. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York.
Title Illustrations
| Scientific Name | Scaphiopus holbrookii hurteri |
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| Image Use |
 This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License - Version 3.0.
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| Copyright |
© 1995 David Cannatella
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| Scientific Name | Pelobates syriacus |
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| Location | Romania |
| Specimen Condition | Live Specimen |
| Identified By | Horia Bogdan |
| Image Use |
This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 2.0.
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| Copyright |
© Horia Bogdan
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| Image Use |
This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License - Version 3.0.
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| Copyright |
© 1995 David Cannatella
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About This Page
David Cannatella
University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA
Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to David Cannatella at
Page copyright © 2008 David Cannatella
Page: Tree of Life
Pelobatoidea.
Authored by
David Cannatella.
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- First online 11 January 2008
- Content changed 11 January 2008
Citing this page:
Cannatella, David. 2008. Pelobatoidea. Version 11 January 2008 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Pelobatoidea/16976/2008.01.11 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
